By simply refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus on December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks helped initiate one of the greatest periods of social change in American history. After a long day of work as a seamstress, Ms. Parks refused to abide by the blatantly racist and segregationist laws of the day. Ms. Parks decided to make a statement that day and changed America in the process.

Ms. Parks said it best in her autobiography, 'People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day.' She continued, 'No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in.'

We must keep the memory of Rosa Parks and her courage alive. Future generations must learn about her generation's struggle for equality and civil rights.

Ms. Parks taught us all a valuable lesson that anyone who is willing to fight for their beliefs can start a movement for great change. In America, even the deeply flawed America that existed in Montgomery 50 years ago, a seamstress riding home from work can change the way we live, not by throwing a bomb or firing a gun, but by simply being tired of giving into a system she believes is wrong. Americans of all races owe Rosa Parks a debt of gratitude for making our country a better place.